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(UK poster, from Scotland)
(apologies if I've posted in the wrong section, original MRSP was over $3k, but now its not...)

Hi,

I recently bought a Sony VPL-VW100 ("Ruby") projector on ebay (1080p, SXRD, 3 panel LCOS, 2007).
I tested it for the first time last night & within a minute of turning it on I realised something was wrong as I could not completely focus the image.
The Ruby has an electronic controlled focus & when being used it brings up a grid overlay with the word "Lens Focus" in the middle, but these words couldn't come fully into focus.

The projector is not able to fully focus sharp, as in, the best fully focused position of the focus control doesn’t give a fully sharp focus - the projector menu text is still somewhat blurred (but gets more blurry if you add or subtract on the focus control).

With it set with the best focus possible - the projectors own menu is blurry/fuzzy and very difficult to read.
This was true for all the projectors built overlay/menu text in different parts of the screen.

(see attached pics)
The pictures look like they are out of focus, but unfortunately that is how it actually looks.
Close up pictures show the mild 'screendoor' grid in the white areas, the individual pixel outlines.

I tried Blurays through HDMI & DVI, the discs menu text was blurry round the edges & the film image was ill-defined & poor (out of focus).
I tested it in a work meeting room with installed proj & screen - it compared pretty badly to the low spec business/education class 720p projector that is installed, that looked much sharper & clearer).

<continued in next post>

Attached Thumbnails

Last edited by brimstone; 09-09-2014 at 05:38 AM.
Reason: Added model number

I also used the "AVS HD 709" calibration disc & the test patterns showed more issues:-

1. Convergence pattern - the central 2 thirds of the screen had a strong blue tint & the outer corners show colour bleed of different colours.
(see attached pics)
I tried this pattern on the 720p installed projector & it was razer sharp & clear white (I understand it had also scaled the image).

2. Overscan pattern - the percentage text on the right is difficult to read.
I tried this pattern on the 720p installed projector & it was perfectly sharp & clear to read, despite the much reduced resolution.
(see attached pics)

So, it looked like there is something wrong in the internal optical path:-
1. Convergence bad enough?
2. Some other form of mis-aligment somewhere?
3. There is a small chance that something inside (x3 panels / x? mirrors / x? prisms) is 'fogged up' uniformly with contamination of some type, but that seems less likely.

I'm looking for advice on the likely causes & likely fixes for this issue - from all the old hand projector experts out there, I'm still fairly new to this.
Not asking for much am I ;-)

I understand that if re-alignment is needed this may not be possible in the UK (or USA) or may cost way more than the projector is now worth.
I'm hoping that’s not the answer...

Returning the projector to the seller is a difficult proposition due to distance & the size & weight of the Ruby (massive & 19kg) due to this it was hand carried from England to Scotland (about 300 miles) due to a relative luckily passing that way.

Many thanks.
Regards, Mark (brimstone).

TRIED:-
- Cleaned the lens.
- Have been right through the entire menu system & tried each control.
- Been through the entire manual & the only reference to this type of issue refers to condensation (suggested to leave it on for 2 hrs), this was not the case as the projector was left on for more than the described amount of time with no change.
- The projector was within its limits of distance, I tried moving it, I tried using the zoom in & out, then re-focusing.
- Checked the lens shift function wasn't distorting the image.
- All the pictures were taken with the display screen size around 82 inches diagonal.

QUESTION: What problems do people normally have when they have a projector with convergence issues?

Just some mild colour bleed/separation in corners?
Or if it's bad enough - a blurry effect like on my machine?

I can definitely see convergence problems with the red/green/blue colours bleeding, as shown in the pictures in the first 2 posts. But I don't know (lack of experience of seeing these issue) if this is a separate issue or the likely cause?

I guess it makes sense when you look really close at the menu text (it shows to some extent in the pictures) - there is colour bleed all round them, looking in some areas of the text as a dark/black blotchiness. The text is small, so with bad enough convergence/alignment problems, this would cause a sort of lack of focus.

From your pictures it looks like you have two problems. Some minor convergences issue but it all looks out of focus. If it was only convergences issue the lines of each color still should be sharply focused and they are not.

From your pictures it looks like you have two problems. Some minor convergences issue but it all looks out of focus. If it was only convergences issue the lines of each color still should be sharply focused and they are not.

Hi and thank you for your answer & clarification.

When I compare my pictures to some I've seen on other convergence threads, even with the convergence taken into account - as you have pointed out it looks soft & blurry, where other examples appear to be sharp & the colours more clearly separate.

The other uncertainty I have around what you have described (which does make sense to me), is that the LCOS pixels (Sony calls SXRD) are a bit smoother & less sharp than standard LCD, or DLP.
My understanding of pixel structure of different projection technologies is slowly increasing, but I still lack the actual experience of seeing these things in action.

I saw this on another thread & just reading some of it confused me a great deal:-
-----There are a number of factors other than pixel convergence that's going to make an image have resolution.
-----LCOS designs are inherently less sharp as DLP. It's just in the nature of the panels used.
-----This is a great read and I highly suggest some of you read it.
-----The whole article breaks down the sharpness difference between DILA and DLP on more than just a convergence and optics perspective.
-----http://www.videovantage.com/?p=819

QUESTION:
So, does LCOS mis-convergence normally look like my pictures as the pixel structure is less sharp?
Or as pointed out, is there a second issue with a focus like blur effect - that can't be improved with the actual focus control?

I can understand some people looking at my pictures and just thinking - the camera isn't in focus, but unfortunately the pictures match the actual image problem pretty accurately.
If you look at the last (4th) close-up picture in my opening post (it shows menu items "Function", "installation" & "Setup") - you can clearly see the pixel structure grid (screen door) in the white areas next to the text.
I should point out at this point that the screen used does have a texture, but it is many times smaller than the pixel size and runs in a diagonal direction.

It's almost like the pixel structure is pretty clear, but the colours/text/images aren't - which doesn't make any sense?
I can clearly see x1 pixel structure grid (close up).

BIGGER QUESTION:
Surely all x3 panels will have a pixel structure/grid of their own & if they aren't aligned correctly all x3 grids will overlay each other - and either will not be clearly seen (as fine detail mush), or you will see x3 pixel structure grids clearly mis-aligned?
So why can I only see one grid? (but can see convergence colour bleed)

Now I've noticed that, I'm even more confused.
I've considered taking the optical block apart & just looking for something that doesn't look right (I'd have to pretty lucky for the issue to show as simply as that).
Not at that point yet & may decide against it & find a way to return it to the seller instead at my expense (will be very difficult to pack & box & ship).

I have a duplicate thread running on AVForums in the UK.
I had a reply on there which i've quoted below, but I also realised something I hadn't considered, which i'll repeat here...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff, post: 21024482, member: 4810

It's not a million miles away from what I'd expect from a Ruby, the best thing to do would be to display crosshatch pattern in the individual colours, red, blue, green and probably one will be more out of focus than the others. if that is the case there probably isn't a lot you can do other than focus on the green as a preference.

I thought about it again this morning and realised I was starting to go round in circles with my question (is this normal for LCOS?).

Close up the text blurryness is hard to dissect & understand - but it still comes back to the basic problem that you struggle to read the menu from a normal seating distance & all images & text displayed are blurred, difficult to view & colours unusually tinted.

Perhaps looking close up it seems like what a Ruby is capable of, I don't fully understand what exactly it should look like - but at a seating distance everything is blurry, not matter what it looks like close up.

Looking at a Blu-ray it feels worse quality (less detail/resolution) than the picture I was use to from my old business sector 720p 3LCD projector, certainly much worse than the newer 720p business projector installed in the screen room (where it is being tested).
Obviously there is no jagginess, as it is blurry, but it feels more like comparable quality/resolution of a 1024x768 unit.

It's possible that the menu system isn't rendered at 1080?
Perhaps scaled up, but that seems unlikely as the text is quite small.
And even if so, individual coloured pixels steps (jaggies from scaling) still aren't visible, as outlines & lines & text are blurry at the pixel level.

The AVS 709 test patterns @ 1920x1080 show the same blurryness in text, wide colour bleed on objects/shapes and discoloured colours (very noticeable on the 'white' +blue tint in centre convergence pattern).

The result were even more confusing, depending on whether the background selected was white (0%) or black (100%) some colours of single pixels didn’t show up at all (green iirc) and others were vague blobs, the crosses were better but still vague & blurred (looking like they were out of focus...) - while the laptop LCD picture was razer sharp & correct.

There's definitely something very wrong with this projector, I'm assuming in the optical block - but I've realised that it is possible for there to be an electrical fault in the graphics/processing board that drives the 3 panels, if one isn't driven correctly.
Or, someone may have tinkered with the settings in the service menu in the past & screwed it up (unlikely, but possible).

Unfortunately there is no 'Factory Reset' for this model. I've scoured the user manual, the service manual & the web.
Firmware needs to be updated to correct issues in the service menu.
EDIT: And new default values pushed in from a file, then basic calibration by technician, as listed in service menu.

I should point out - I have already been into my local Sony shop and they provided me with contact details for the Sony out-of-warranty repairer "A1 TV Services", who have stated that when they received this type of projector with an optical block type fault or alignment issues - they had to send it to a Sony centre England for repair due to the special jigs & setup required.
But, he also mentioned that there are x7 firmware updates listed for the Ruby model.

I'm going on a bit now, so I'll stop.
I'm stripped the chassis down today & will be removing the optical block for a closer examination inside this evening.

I have stripped the projector down x3 times now, x2 including the optical block & lens assembly, no real issues found.
The projector's unacceptable blurry image fault is still present, the exactly the same extent, no matter what I have tried.
The ebay seller offered a refund & I accepted.
To his merit he offered for me to keep the projector & just reduce the refund by the amount it would have cost me to post.
I am no longer actively seeking a fix for this unit, but if you have some useful info please share it as I still have it in my possession at present.
I am going to sell the Ruby for spares/repair to get back the money I have lost (never mind the 20+ hours researching, stripping/inspecting/cleaning & testing).
The lamp has 220hrs on it & I now know this is an accurate timer count as I found in the service (or factory?) menu that the projector itself only has 220hrs on it.
Also this is a later serial number unit that has the lamp igniter issue hardware mods fitted as standard by Sony.
An £8k projector with only 220hrs on it, practically new - what a waste.

Why am I still posting:-

The information and particularly the pictures may be of interest or help to someone in the future.
Often when I am searching forums for something the answer or detailed pictures are missing, so I will add some pics of the internals :-)

Sony themselves (Sony's Prime 'Professional' support, as this isn't a consumer unit) wanted £100 +vat +shipping both ways just to look at it & provide an estimate.
It would have been sent to the Central Service Center in Pencoed (UK) for its diagnostics.
I would have expected the repair costs to be in the hundreds just for an adjustment, if parts need replaced, it could easily go into the thousands considering the original retail price of the unit.
That wasn't an option then, considering the current value of the unit.

I stripped the top half of the projector down, then the optical block, then finally the lens section (5 or 6 separate lenses including the dynamic iris).
I can't find the cause for the issue, the optics block lenses all appear to be clean, nothing out of place, nothing burned/damaged/discoloured or otherwise looking suspect.
I cleaned some tiny bits of dust & grease from some lenses, again nothing suspect.

I found pdf's of the following manuals on Sony website and the service manual through Google:-
- User Manual.
- Marketing specs blurb.
- Dimension drawing.
- Protocol manual.
- Service manual.

Had a good look in the Factory Mode & Service Mode, looked through values & compared to the service manual default values.

How to enter Service Mode / Factory Mode:-Service Mode on Sony VPL VW-100
"The service mode is accessed by pressing on the remote (enter) (enter) (UP arrow) (DOWN arrow) (enter), then (UP arrow) when it asks "do you want to enter the service mode?"
"The factory mode is accessed by pressing on the remote (enter) (enter) (LEFT arrow) (enter), then (UP arrow) when it asks "do you want to enter the factory mode?"

I managed to connect to the Ruby through Ethernet (just put ip address in browser), but the options just match those of the built-in menu.
What would have been really useful was to connect via Ethernet to the Factory/Service Mode - but the ip address listed in the service manual doesn't work.
This would have allowed looking at the error log ("Event Trace"), as well as the firmware update section (although you need the driver tool & firmware files).

Normal menu connect ip: Read from the individual projector menu, in the 'Installation Menu'.
Supposed service mode ip: 169.254.50.50 (didn’t work for me) (may need to use subnet mask 255.255.0.0).

I did notice what appeared to be high values for the panel temp sensor, which got better when I realised they were likely to be readings in degrees F, rather than degrees C :-)
I did check the separate fan for the cowling around the panels area of the optical block anyway & it was running fine.
My thinking was that if the fan had been dead, the over-heating could have caused panel issues - but unlikely the blurry results I'm seeing anyway.
According to Sony SXRD panel rear projection TV failures, the panels normally just die when overheated (search YouTube for examples).

If you are a Ruby owner & have an earlier unit with problems igniting lamps, search the forums for portions of this quote from another thread for more information:-
---Depending on your Ruby S/N, you will need either the:-
---full $707 Hard Start Mod Kit Assy (A-1206-459-A) [for S/N 2000001-2003986]
---or only the $199 Igniter Assy (A-1206-462-A) [for S/N 2003987-2005136]

What am I left with?

The cause of the issues seen 'could' be related to the driving electronics in some way - but that seems highly unlikely for this 'blurry' fail mode.
There could have been alterations made in the firmware service mode at some point, but who would do that to a 220hr £8k projector.
Besides, again, that seems highly unlikely for this 'blurry' fail mode.
I even wondered if one (or all) of the SXRD LCOS (like LCD) panels themselves have some issue - again, that seems unlikely for this 'blurry' fail mode.
All that’s left as a likely candidate is what I was looking at - something unusual & difficult to see in the optical block.

I tried to get another spares/repair Ruby from ebay, but for obvious reasons (given the bulk & weight of this monstrous beast, plus delicacy of optics alignment & lamp) he was unwilling.
If I could have swapped parts out from another unit I could have narrowed down the root cause - but rarity, cost & size make this very difficult.
And to be honest - I've now had enough of this projector anyway.

The following attached are pictures of the internals of the Sony Ruby optical block ("light engine"?).

Pictures:-#1 . Projector with the top & front & rear removed.#2 . The optical block with the 2nd (& closest) display driver board.#3 . These x6 lenses are where the lamp light enters the optical block.#4 . This is looking at the prism where the panels x3 colours are blended together to go into the final lens assembly (looking from lens assy end).
The black heat sinks are the backs of 2 of the panels, you can see the brown flex cables that go to the driver board.#5 . This is the mixture of mirrors & dichromatic mirrors that split the colours up from the lamp into the separate panels.#6 . Same again, different angle.#7 . All of optical block (not inc lens assy) with lids off.#8 . Same again, different angle.

There are around x18 pieces of glass (initial lenses, mirrors/prisms/lenses, final focus assembly lenses) in the optical path.
The chassis structure of this machine is solid, there are a lot of large pieces of billet aluminium.
Very impressive build quality, you can see where the money went & why it weighs 19kg.

The laptop only had a resolution of 1366x768 for its internal LCD screen, so would have been an awkward comparison as the Ruby was an extended desktop of @1920x1080 .
Scaling would obviously have come into the comparison, but due to the nature of the very blurry Ruby fault it just showed how the test patterns should have looked.

The projector will be up for sale shortly in the classified section of this forum and any other UK AV forum I find (AVTalk seems to have gone missing).
If I don’t get a buyer I'll put it on ebay & Gumtree.

The bulb & casing is £600 new, this one has a guaranteed 220hrs on it.
Someone with an earlier model Ruby will be able to use the parts to fix their machine if it has a problem with the ignitor for starting bulbs.
Or, someone may want other donor parts for another reason, or have access to another spares/repair Ruby (to make a good one), or believe they can fix this unit (good luck, I couldn't).

Lens is messed up or out of alignment. Does it have electric focus like the 60? Maybe the lens(es) were damaged in shipping to you. Can you put a piece of paper in front of it and move away to see if it ever gets clear?

Lens is messed up or out of alignment. Does it have electric focus like the 60? Maybe the lens(es) were damaged in shipping to you. Can you put a piece of paper in front of it and move away to see if it ever gets clear?

Hi Verge,
Thanks for your comments.
It has motorised focus & lens shift & zoom, however I have dismantled the lens assembly & the optical block twice now and there's no sign of any damage or alignment issues, or well... anything wrong.
Although I never did try (at the time, its taped up in bubble wrap now) the paper test - my investigation went in another direction as the focus mechanism itself seems to work perfectly. The lenses travel their full mechanical distance & if you go past the 'best' focus point in either direction the image slowly moves fully out of focus as normal. Also the pixel 'grid' structure is clearly visible at the 'best' focus point, however the coloured pixels themselves are blurry & ill defined. Very odd.
Regards, Mark.

The projector is no longer for sale on the UK avforums classified section.
It will be going on ebay tonight.
I hate to think what the international shipping charges would be from the UK to the USA for this beast, but if you are interested keep an eye out for it.